Today, I’ve got something (again) non-beauty-related but still pretty fun! We’re all familiar with beauty box subscriptions, like Julep or ipsy, but there are a TON of other kinds out there lately. I’ve seen health food ones, ones for your pets, even subscriptions for jewelry and clothing. This is the Loot Crate, a nerdy/geek sample box.

Super blown out exposure makes it look radiant!

I’ve known about Loot Crate for a long time now, but never indulged. However, March’s theme was “Attack on Titanfall,” a play-on and mash-up of two industry giants at the moment: Attack on Titan and Titanfall. Obviously, you know from my recent Mikasa cosplay that I’m a huge fan of Attack on Titan (aka Shingeki no Kyojin). So, I decided to try it out!

The boxes are just under $20 per month though there are usually codes to take a few bucks off. I used a code to drop my March box down to ~$16. April’s codes are APRILLOOT to take $3 off a box, or LOOTAPRIL to take 10% off a subscription!

Like many subscription services, you can prepay for a longer subscription to save on the price of each box. In Loot Crate’s case, a one-month subscription (auto-renews) is $13.37 plus $6 s/h. (The price, if you’re not familiar, is a reference to leetspeak.) The three-month subscription drops that to $12.37, and the six-month goes down to $11.37.

Because boxes often include shirts, you also can select your shirt size when signing up. In addition, every month, they choose a random subscriber to win their Mega Crate, a (obviously) mega box of that month’s themed goodies.

My box shipped on March 18, and I received it on the 20th. Here’s what I got!

Also, some saltwater taffy but those didn’t make it into the picture. :shiver: Unfortunately, I haven’t played Titanfall and I don’t plan to buy an XBone in the near future. Even so, I really like what I got. A lot of these items are Loot Crate exclusives, so it’s hard to calculate a value. They claim that each box is a $40+ value. Looking at some items I know the price of: the AoT manga is usually around $6-8 retail, and the Prima strategy guide retails for $9.99. So, already, we’ve exceeded the purchase price of the Loot Crate.

Also, every month’s Loot Crate is the same across all subscribers. This, I think, is much preferable to subscriptions like Birchbox or ipsy, where the items included may vary.

I really like the look of the wristband, but unfortunately I’m more than a few years out of my wristband-wearing phase. I also don’t think we’re far out enough yet that wristbands are “vintage” cool. xD
The lanyard is really well-constructed — it’s soft and the print is bold. We wear lanyards for our IDs at work, so I may switch my boring work-issued one for this.
The pin is a little collector’s piece, I think, just like the magazine. Just to commemorate which boxes you’ve received.
Speaking of, the magazine is really nice. It has insider articles on both Titanfall and Attack on Titan, as well as individual pages and descriptions for each item in the box.

TITANS!

I chose a women’s S for the shirt and it is the perfect size for me. But I’m fairly small-chested and it fits snugly — if you’re more well-endowed, I think you’d need to size up. I especially like that it has a long length, so even though it has a feminine cut, it’s not a babydoll. My butt and gut won’t be hanging out everywhere. 😯
The magnet has the same illustration as on the front of the magazine, and it’s a mashup of the two titles, with a Scouting Legion soldier (Eren, maybe?) running towards a Titan from Titanfall. Unfortunately, our refrigerator is stainless steel so I end up sticking all my magnets on the washing machine. xD

I read the AoT manga before it was officially translated, and was planning on buying them slowly, so I’m super pumped to get the first issue!

The only thing that’s a dud for me is the strategy guide code, for obvious reasons. I gave it to a friend, though!

Overall, I’m happy! I think the box is a really cute way to sample some geeky things, and I like that some of the things are exclusives, so you won’t have to worry too much about getting stuff you already have.

I don’t know for sure yet, but I suspect next month’s box is Game of Thrones / A Song of Ice and Fire themed, because in a follow-up email, they said, “Brace yourselves, April’s Crate is coming!” I’m a huge ASOIAF fan, both the books and show, so I can’t wait to see next month’s crate!

If you’re interested in subscribing to Loot Crate, please consider using my subscription link, which will give me credits towards a free month!